Summertime Jobs

Now that school is out and it's officially the first week of summer for many students in KELOLAND. Some teens might be looking for summer employment to make some extra cash and keep themselves busy.

Cashier and server positions are popular among the younger set, but teenagers have a wide variety of companies to choose from. According to HireTeen.com, South Dakota has more than 80 employers looking to hire for the summer and beyond.

Kendall Wahlgran, is one of the youngest servers at IHOP.

"Then I have to clean the counter and start folding silverware," Wahlgran said.

It has been almost a year since she started serving.

"You get tips everyday and stuff like that so it's always nice to have money laying around," Wahlgran said.

Now that it's summer, she keeps busy working at IHOP a couple times a week.

"After every shift you have to do side work, you have to do cooler or bevs," Wahlgran said. "I have to pay for gas, and if I want to go shopping or anything, it's nice to have money laying around because you can do whatever."

Wahlgran admits she hasn't started saving yet but she's going to college a year from now so she wants to start saving soon.

"Well I probably should, like I start saving money but then I think oh I really want this thing and I have enough money for it now so I spend it. So I should probably start saving but I haven't yet.

IHOP is looking to fill many positions and the manager say the people she hires have the oportunity to gain valuable work experience.

"You high school kids want a new job, they want to make money and whatever," IHOP manager Sarai Espinoza said. "They have to do so this is a good opportunity for them. It's experience where they can learn you know waiting table, cleaning it's something that pays and they have money in their pocket."

"It shows a sense of responsibility. And like my friends, I have had friends that have graduated and now they are out there searching for jobs and they don't have much experience so it's harder for them to get jobs. So I think if you start younger then it's going to be easier for you because you are going to have so many different experiences to put down on your application," Wahlgran said.